Eliamaría Madrid Crawford ('14 BFA, Theatre Arts)

Tell us about yourself!
I was born and raised in San Angelo, Texas, and have been a DFW resident since coming to UTA in 2010. I currently reside in Dallas, Texas. I am the only child of immigrant parents.

Why did you choose to attend UTA?
I was ultimately wanting to attend a university in the DFW area, no matter what. I wanted to leave the small town life and expand my horizons, in life and in my passion for theatre. At the time I had seen the career paths of many UTA theatre alumni that were similar to what I was aspiring to do and wanted to go for it.

What did you study at UTA? What attracted you to that field?
I studied theatre arts. I loved performing and wanted to continue doing so while studying the art more to help me get into that more. I loved being able to make people laugh and play fun characters, and I knew that there was a good improv background in the department. I wanted to participate because it was a dream of mine to do professional improv and comedy performance at some point.

Describe your UTA experience. How did UTA help prepare you for your career?
It’s actually a very interesting path, because I entered my university life with the aspiration to be a performer and continue to do that for forever and eternity. While doing so, I had been illustrating comics and toons before even going to college. I was pursuing both passions hand-in-hand – one just being the focus on why I was at UTA. It kind of got to a point where some opportunities had to be put on hold because of my degree path and ultimately, I wanted to do what I can to pursue both and see where it goes. In the end, my passion for one (theatre) died and my love and drive for the other (illustration and cartooning) blossomed and grew more than I could have imagined. I was doing freelance illustration gigs to treat myself to non-ramen meals as well as just being able to buy some non-college necessities to get through rough school years. Seeing that I was able to made me believe I could do it and made me really re-think my educational journey. I even pursued less performance-focused studies and tried my hand at writing and creative sides to the theatre. While it wasn’t the ideal journey, it helped pave the way to what passions I actually was on the search for. 

What inspired you to join the Shorthorn at UTA?
Funny enough, I applied every year until senior year. It was kind of a silent competition I put between two of my passions. I started out on the BA degree path for theatre when I started at UTA and applied at orientation for the Shorthorn. I didn’t get the job and my audition didn’t get me into the BFA theatre program my freshman year. So I tried both again. Sophomore year, I once again didn’t get into the Shorthorn, however my audition BARELY let me into the BFA program for theatre. So I managed to make it into one. Just for one more try’s-sake, I applied junior year for the cartoonist job at the Shorthorn to see if I was good enough to pursue both. I didn’t get the job, so I went on focusing on theatre, thinking I just had to pick one thing for the rest of my life. 

Then the summer before senior year I got a call. The Shorthorn wanted me to come in for an interview. I didn’t even apply again, they just happened to have my application on hand. What helped me this time? That would be the cartoons I was making of UTA-famed professor, Dr. Allan Saxe. I was publishing weekly comics online all throughout my college career and Dr. Allan Saxe’s political science class I took one summer made for some great comics. I had filled my notebook with class notes, of course, but in the margins I would be scribbling down the best and memorable quotes of each class, collecting them, then illustrating them into comics I shared online with my readers. I guess the Shorthorn caught wind. I was lucky enough to be hired on as the cartoonist for the summer before senior year, and I felt on top of the world. I started out with illustrating for editorial articles, and eventually had my own weekly comic strip plus a section for Allan Saxe Cartoons. I felt unstoppable with my illustrative life, as if I had already made it in work I loved before graduating in something else that was no longer as fulfilling as I once felt. In a way, I have the Shorthorn to thank for putting me on the career path I am on today.

"Your educational journey is your own." 

Describe your path in your art career. What have you learned along the way?
I did end up graduating in 2014 with my BFA in theatre arts. However, I knew that it wasn’t the passion I was going to follow at the time. I announced this via my graduation cap where I put “Elia in a Box” — the name of my webcomic that helped position me on the unexpected illustrative journey at UTA, and the comic I would continue to work on for 6 more years. Since then I have had the honor of illustrating more comics and projects, including a full book of comics featuring the late Dr. Allan Saxe. I debuted it at ArlingCon in 2016 with his full support and I am honored to have been able to immortalize those moments.

I’ve also been a guest at many conventions by showcasing my work, hosting comic-creation workshops, and building a platform with a strong community that comes together to appreciate the creative arts, while also raising money for many different charity causes. One big thing I’ve learned, and am even coming to terms with now, is that a college path isn’t one-dimensional. You don’t just have to go in with the drive to pursue one thing and finish it to “do it right.” It’s multi-dimensional, just like life. You learn new things, keep and improve the skills you want to improve on, and pursue whatever your passion is. There’s many “side-quests” and opportunities to expand on, while working on other things that could ultimately work together in the best ways. I still find it so true today.  

What drew you to your career path? Can you share any defining moments in your career that inspired you to continue your work?
Around my junior year, I was really struggling mentally, with college life, personal pressures, and life in general, to the point where I didn’t know if I wanted to finish my college path anymore. I was still very focused on my love of making people laugh, but performing and theatre life just wasn’t doing it, because I wasn’t feeling it. Drawing comics at the time did it for me, and I saw I could do what I wanted in the performance world on paper, and was even more-so inspired by things around me. Visual storytelling kicked in, in a different perspective around this time where I was so focused on telling the best story I could as a performer and person, but not so much as an illustrator. Illustration provided that relief from the pressure I was putting on myself and was being well-received without the critique of how I was doing it. I did a small comic show in Plano the summer after freshman and sophomore year, as well as attended conventions to network, that kept my passion for illustration alive in the midst of a stressful and educational performance day-to-day life, and it somehow reminded me that there was always that option.

What's one lesson you learned at UTA that has stayed with you still today?
The first few years after graduation, I felt like I had this big cloud of disappointment over me because I wasn’t working in my degree field, nor did I want to. I felt like a failure. I sometimes still do, to be honest. As a daughter of immigrants, and coming from an extended family that put so much academic pressure on all of us kids, I let that hang on me from the moment I started college. I had to do it. I had to be a professional at something. I had to work in my degree field, or what am I even doing? It was intoxicating. But as I got further and further into my career path, I realized there were so many aspects of my degree journey that I learned and experienced that shaped me into a stronger worker in the illustrative field.

My stage presence has helped me in interviews, convention panels, meeting people at networking events, and my overall confidence being around people. The discipline that I had to hold while being part of a theatrical production has helped my creative discipline in being focused, on time, and making sure I have things prepared for big projects and events. The playwriting and scenic design classes helped teach me the process of the creative design journey, from starting a project, to developing it, to it becoming the final product — just like the comic-creation journey. The list goes on.

"What is university life, but a time to be educated on many different aspects, skills, and passions that will make you more aware of what your goals are once you’re unleashed into the world."

Was my college path what I thought it was going to be, going in on day one? Far from it. However, it was a journey that I wouldn’t have experienced anywhere else. What is university life, but a time to be educated on many different aspects, skills, and passions that will make you more aware of what your goals are once you’re unleashed into the world. That’s the beauty of education. It’s your time to learn, make mistakes, take risks, experiment, or do that thing you’ve been scared or questioning to do. I am very grateful for the experiences I had in my personal and professional growth, from live storytelling to an audience, to visually in books and media, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without what I experienced at UTA.

What message do you have for the next generation of UTA graduates?
Your educational journey is your own. You get to learn what you want to learn and even more, what you didn’t think you could learn. It’s a world of being able to experience life in micro-doses, essentially, to see what you like, how you want to carry yourself socially, and have a plethora of resources at your fingertips. It sucks that higher education isn’t more accessible, but you made it here. So make the best of it. I do have one regret, and that’s learning more outside of my classes. You have libraries, clubs, events, and so much more. Do something outside of your class schedule and expectations. It could lead you to some fun adventures.

Anything else you would like to share?
I have a comic book duo coming up on Kickstarter featuring 30+ comics each if you like silly gag strips, as well as my first graphic novel that recently got picked up by a publisher. It features my story of Princesa Taco, a Latina Magical Girl who wants the best for her pueblo.

See more of Eliamaría's work at www.spicedeliastrations.com!